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A Novel
by Charlotte McConaghy
Book Reviewed by:An enthralling new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Migrations and Once There Were Wolves.
A family on a remote island. A mysterious woman washed ashore. A rising storm on the horizon.
Dominic Salt and his three children are caretakers of Shearwater, a tiny island not far from Antarctica. Home to the world's largest seed bank, Shearwater was once full of researchers, but with sea levels rising, the Salts are now its final inhabitants. Until, during the worst storm the island has ever seen, a woman mysteriously washes ashore.
Isolation has taken its toll on the Salts, but as they nurse the woman, Rowan, back to strength, it begins to feel like she might just be what they need. Rowan, long accustomed to protecting herself, starts imagining a future where she could belong to someone again.
But Rowan isn't telling the whole truth about why she set out for Shearwater. And when she discovers sabotaged radios and a freshly dug grave, she realizes Dominic is keeping his own secrets. As the storms on Shearwater gather force, they all must decide if they can trust each other enough to protect the precious seeds in their care before it's too late―and if they can finally put the tragedies of the past behind them to create something new, together.
A novel of breathtaking twists, dizzying beauty, and ferocious love, Wild Dark Shore is about the impossible choices we make to protect the people we love, even as the world around us disappears.
Charlotte McConaghy's novel Wild Dark Shore is set on fictional Shearwater Island, located halfway between Tasmania and Antarctica. The frigid, wind-swept land is home to thousands of sea mammals and endangered birds, as well as a small research base, a lighthouse, and the world's largest seed bank. Water levels are rising due to global warming, however, and soon the island will disappear beneath the waves. The researchers have evacuated, leaving the caretakers, Dominic Salt and his three children, to pack up the seeds for transport before they, too, will be displaced from the land that has been their home for the past eight years. More than a slow-burn thriller, the novel has a lot to say about grief, in particular how dwelling on one's losses can damage relationships with those we care about. All the characters have experienced profound bereavement of one type or another, and the journey each takes toward healing is the beating heart of the narrative...continued
Full Review
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(Reviewed by Kim Kovacs).
A main character in Charlotte McConaghy's novel Wild Dark Shore is employed as a caretaker for an isolated seed bank. The author has stated that the facility is based on the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, located on the remote Norwegian island of Spitsbergen, halfway between mainland Norway and the North Pole.
A seed bank's main purpose is to safeguard the planet's food supply, creating a repository that could be turned to should a disaster wipe out humanity's crops. It's believed that a well-preserved seed can stay viable for centuries. According to a 2022 article in The Guardian, there are approximately 1,700 seed banks around the world.
The first seed bank was created in St. Petersburg in the 1920s by Russian ...
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A young woman and her lover are marooned on an island in this breathtaking saga, an epic story of love, faith, and defiance from the bestselling author of Sam.
by Kristin Hannah
Published 2019
From the author of The Nightingale, comes a story of a family in crisis and a young girl struggling to survive at the edge of the world, in America's last true frontier.
Hannah Kent, international bestselling author of Burial Rites
At once a gripping mystery, an exquisitely written ode to the natural world, and a taut, psychological thriller, Wild Dark Shore is a triumph. Charlotte McConaghy is masterful in her ability to show the intricate connections between place and the human heart, and Wild Dark Shore shows her at the height of her powers. Breathtaking.
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